Former Dominoes vocalist
Clyde McPhatter moved to
the Drifters, based in New York, and
continued his gospel-pop mission with
Jesse Stone's Money Honey (1953),
his own Honey Love (1954),
and
Ahmet Ertegun's boogie Whatcha Gonna Do (1954).
The new Drifters of 1959 were a completely different group, led by baritone
Ben King, whose sophisticated vocals highlighted
Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller's There Goes My Baby (1959), their first experiment mixing Latin percussions and strings (a dramatic repudiation of the
duo's rock'n'roll format that had helped launch Presley),
as well as
Jerome Pomus & Mort Schuman's This Magic Moment (1960) and Save The Last Dance For Me (1960).
The third season of the Drifters, with King replaced by Rudy Lewis, yielded
Gerry Goffin & Carole King's Up On The Roof (1962),
Mann & Weil's On Broadway (1963),
and finally, with Johnny Moore replacing the late Rudy Lewis,
Artie Resnick & Kenny Young's Under The Boardwalk (1964), arranged by Bert Berns with Latin percussions and strings.
These hits, mostly produced by Leiber & Stoller, and including Ben King's solo
Spanish Harlem (1961) and
Stand By Me (1961), a gospel song adapted to Brazilian baion rhythm,
were innovative and influenced
both soul, pop and rock music.
(Italian text translated by Ornella C. Grannis)

The Drifters formed in New York during the heyday of doo-wop, a style
they mastered, thanks to a technique more svelte and lively than the
average, and to the voice of Clyde McPhatter, a singer whose fluid style
would have a great influence on soul music.

The group ended with the demise doo-wop and was reborn with a completely
new formulation. Guided by a pure gospel interpreter, Ben E. King, the
new Drifters sang some of the finest melodies ever produced by the Brill
Building, starting with There Goes My Baby (1959), with vivid strings
and quasi-Latin rhythm, characterized by a violin that played the riffs
traditionally left to a saxophone. Drawn to Bacharach's arrangements and
aided by the compositions of Brill Building greats, the Drifters became
the darlings of the white public as well: This Magic Moment (1960, by Pomus
and Schuman) made everybody dream. After the colossal success Save The Last
Dance For Me (1960, also by Pomus and Schuman), Ben E. King lowered the
sound his voice to render it more touching, but the Latin flavors stifled
the improvisation of the group.

After King's departure the Drifters had three more hits: Up On The Roof
(1962, by Goffin and King), On Broadway (1963, by Leiber and Stoller) and
Under The Boardwalk (1964, by Resnick and Young), brilliant evocations of
urban life influenced by the music of Broadway. Their languid and exotic
serenades were the soundtrack of America's post-war romanticism.